Traffic
Tickets: Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.

Criminal Prosecutions: Sullivan County
District Attorney's Office

Judges: Justice Kevin Rhyne & Justice Cindy L. Barber

Traffic Enforcement

Route 55 runs through the east-west length of the Town of Bethel. Enforcement on Rt. 55 is almost exclusively
handled by officers from "Troop F" of the NYS Police. The speed limit along the Route 55 is mostly 55 mph (there are 35 mph segments)
and almost all speeding tickets are written for speeds more than 10 mph over the limit. Stationary radar and laser speed detection
are widely used. Traffic law enforcement along all of the other roads in the Town of Bethel is largely done by local town police officers.
Local police enforcement is most active on Rt. 55. Bethel is famous as the actual site of the original Woodstock Music Festival
in 1970.It is now home to the Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center which stages very popular Rock, Classical and Country Music
concerts during the summer.

Traffic Court

Both town justices have "traffic calendars" which are devoted to adjudicating
traffic tickets. The NYS Police are prohibited from negotiating plea bargains on traffic violations. As a result, a special town prosecutor
has been appointed to deal with tickets written by the NYS police. 95% of state police tickets are adjudicated through plea bargains
with the special prosecutor. The Town Prosecutor and both judges are reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more
than 25 mph over the limit or over 90 mph.

Local police officers somtimes prosecute their own tickets, though the special
prosecutor may substitute for them. Again, most tickets are resolved through plea bargains. Traffic court sessions can last 1-2
hours. Attorneys are permitted to appear without their clients being present for traffic court.

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For more information about speeding
and other traffic offenses, click here

For information
about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell defend your speeding ticket or DWI charge, click here.

Criminal Law Enforcement
and Prosecutions

All criminal prosecutions are handled by the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office. The DA's office takes
a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1800 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving
(DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Sullivan County. Both the NYS Police and the Bethel Town Police made numerous arrests. Most arrests occurred
after dark with many taking place after midnight. Police officers assume that many driver's who are out after midnight have consumed
alcohol and or drugs. As a result they are looking for any lawful reason to pull drivers over in order to investigate possible DWI
incidents. Alcohol checkpoints were established several times by the a combined task force of NYS Police and Bethel police.DWI and drug possession enforcement can be very intense on evenings when a rock concert is scheduled for Bethel Woods Performing Arts
Center.All of these offenses are "criminal" violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Sullivan County District
Attorney's office.

Other typical criminal cases heard in Bethel Town Court are petty larceny, assault, harrassment and drug
possession. Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Sullivan County Court if
there is a felony indictment by the Grand Jury.

Please note: Information on this website is intended to inform, not to advise. No one should attempt to interpret or apply any law without the assistance of an attorney that is familiar with that area of law, the rules of the court involved and the specific facts of each individual case.

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